How much should you charge for pet sitting?
Pet sitters generally don’t charge enough.
New pet sitters seem to worry they won’t get new clients if they charge too much.
Or, they worry they don’t have enough experience to justify charging more. This is the wrong mindset. If you are a pet sitter, you should believe your services are highly valued.
Professional pet sitters should charge at least $20 per 30-minute visit when caring for dogs, cats and small animals.
Suggested minimum rate to charge for pet sitting:
- 15 minutes: $15
- 30 minutes: $20
- 60 minutes: $27
Factors to consider when determining how much to charge for pet sitting
This is based on my own experience as a professional pet sitter. For more information, see my post on how to start a pet sitting business.
What is your competition charging for pet sitting?
Look at what existing pet sitters in your area are charging, and offer something comparable to the high end. If the range is about $18 to $25 per half-hour visit, you should charge $25.
Make pet sitting worth your time.
A “30-minute” visit will take you about an hour or maybe more when you consider driving time to and from the appointment. Your time is valuable, so charge accordingly.
Offer different options for the length of each visit
Give people multiple options. For example, allow them to select 15-minute visits, 30-minute visits or 60-minute visits. And allow them to mix and match.
So, someone might request one 60-minute visit and two 15-minute visits per day. This will give your customers some flexibility on how much they spend. Give them a better deal on longer visits. Charge enough for shorter visits to make them worth your time.
Charge more for pet sitting multiple dogs.
If a client has multiple dogs, it’s OK to charge extra for each additional dog. I charge $5 extra per visit for each additional dog.
For example, a 30-minute visit for one dog is $20. A 30-minute visit for three dogs is $30.
If you want to maintain a flat rate regardless of the number of dogs, then charge a bit more.
Your pet sitting service is the best.
Some people hire pet sitters because they think they can save money, but those are not your target customers.
You want to attract customers who appreciate quality pet care. These are the people who will appreciate your compassion for dogs and your dedication to quality service. They will hire you because you have experience handling and training dogs.
They will hire you because you know what to do in an emergency, you are respectful of property, and dogs feel comfortable and safe around you.
Be professional!
You aren’t starting a pet sitter business as a hobby or to pay off your credit card. You are offering pet sitting because it’s a passion and a career.
As a professional pet sitter, you take yourself seriously.
You have a modern, crisp web site with high-resolution photos. You accept credit card payments. You carry pet sitting insurance. You pay your taxes. You are properly licensed. You network within your community. You donate your time and money to animal shelters because you care.
Offer dog walking.
As a pet sitter, you need to provide dog walking as an option for your clients, and this service should be included in your flat rates. For example, if someone requests three 30-minute visits per day, maybe one of those visits is spent walking.
For another client, you might only spend 20 minutes walking, leaving 10 minutes for feeding, saying hello and so on. Each dog will have different needs, and you should be advertising yourself as a dog sitter and a dog walker.
Care the most.
If you care about each pet as though she were your own, it will show. If you love your job, it will be obvious. You can’t be a good pet sitter if you’re doing it for the money alone.
You are a good pet sitter because you love caring for people’s pets. People will notice, and they will want to hire you and pay you accordingly.
Order my pet sitting ebook
My ebook on how to start a pet sitting business is a step-by-step guide to help you start or grow your pet sitting business as quickly as possible. Learn from someone who’s been there and save yourself some time and stress!
Have you hired a pet sitter? What did you pay for that service?
Do you own a pet sitting business? How did you determine your rates?
Leonard Shelton
Sunday 5th of May 2019
Hello How much do I charge??? The dog will be staying with me in my apt for 2 months, the client is going away for business I will be doing everything basically: -Behavior Training ( dog has anxiety -Pet Feeding -dog walking/exercise -Pet Grooming ( it's a short haired dog so probably just a bath every couple of weeks) -dog training ( reinforcing basic dog obedience skills) So basically this dog will be in my care 24/7 for 2 months, I dont know how or what I should charge my potential client. HELP PLEASE ( ASAP - I am expecting her to call me on Monday ) Thank you
Lindsay Stordahl
Sunday 5th of May 2019
It's up to you what to charge. I would say at least $1,000. I charged $50 per night when I offered this service but they stayed for shorter trips with 2 weeks as the longest.
Patricia McParlin
Friday 5th of August 2016
Hello there,
How much do you charge per day for looking after a puppy, (12 weeks)
Lindsay Stordahl
Friday 5th of August 2016
I charge $25 for every half-hour visit.
Mary
Friday 30th of October 2015
I'm a nanny for eight dogs a couple with disabilities along with two cats. I stay at the home almost 24/7 they pay $200 for 24hours. I do chores and half are puppy mill dogs who will pee and poop inside is that a fare price I'm being paid?
Colleen
Tuesday 14th of October 2014
I pet sit in my home. The dogs are taken for walks, they sleep in my bed with me and go to work with me ( I'm a groomer) I started doing this as so many customers were asking where they could find a good pet sitter. My dilemma is what to charge and how to handle those people that think if they drop them off at...say 4 or 5, that doesn't count as a day. Any thoughts? I live in North Carolina.
Beth
Wednesday 3rd of April 2013
I am a dog trainer in the twin cities area and have been looking into starting my own in home training. My original plan was to have a training session while the owner was home pretty much like class brought to you. But after looking around I am wondering if pairing it with dog sitting might be a good option. I am looking for some feedback and if any one a has experience with the in home training.
Lindsay Stordahl
Wednesday 3rd of April 2013
I don't have a lot of experience marketing myself as a trainer. Through offering dog walking, I naturally work with dogs on basic walking skills, and with others I work on socialization and that type of thing. There will always be dog owners who need help with training and would like their dogs to also get exercise.
As far as pet sitting, I'm sure there are some people who would love a trainer to work with their dogs while they are away. For me, though, the majority of my pet sitting customers just ewant their dogs to have fun and be well cared for. So ... there is certainly an opportunity for what you want to do, but it's all about how you market yourself. Just doing private training sessions at the dog's home while the owner is there might be what most people want. I am not sure. Let me know what you end up doing. I am from the Lake Minnetonka area originally :)